Chromebook Shipments Top 2M in 2013

Shipments of the Google-based laptops are expected to reach 11 million in 2019.

Google's Chromebook line of affordable, Web-based PCs are gaining in popularity, according to new stats. Market intelligence firm ABI Research reports that about 2.1 million Chromebooks shipped in 2013, the majority of which were destined for North America.

With an average selling price (ASP) of $338hundreds less than even the cheapest Mac laptopresearch analyst Stephanie Van Vactor said "this truly budget-driven device is a disruptive force to the portable PC market."

And that force is expected to continue growing globally: ABI predicted a 28 percent increase of Chromebook shipments to 11 million in 2019.

Chromebooks provide a total Web-based operating environment, limiting users to whatever online apps and services are available. Make sure you have Internet access and don't expect access to Microsoft Office or Adobe Photoshop.

Unsurprisingly, ABI Research also found that the broader portable PC market is still struggling against smartphones and tablets. The ultraportable segment, powered by the Windows 8 operating system running 2-in-1 configurations saw only minimal growth in the fourth quarter of last year, despite the holiday shopping season.

All is not lost, however, as ABI looks ahead to a day when cost, connectivity, and greater reliance on cloud services will drive the growth of ultraportable PCs.

"There are many events that can shift the market in 2014, including the EOL of Windows XP, the adoption of Chromebooks, and a stronger focus on Web and cloud services," senior practice director Jeff Orr said. "How consumers and business audiences respond to these changes will impact the trajectory of the market."

Stephanie began as a PCMag reporter in May 2012. She moved to New York City from Frederick, Md., where she worked for four years as a multimedia reporter at the second-largest daily newspaper in Maryland. She interned at Baltimore magazine and graduated from Indiana University of Pennsylvania (in the town of Indiana, in the state of Pennsylvania) with a degree in journalism and mass communications.
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